For the second time in the race, Marcel Kittel breezed home at a short price to double the money of his backers. Another long sprint stage provides another opportunity for the German. Can anybody stop him?
There's some rising road in the first part of Stage 7 but not enough to worry Kittel. The peloton should be together by the time we reach the finish in Nuits-Saint-Georges and we're looking at a very similar market to yesterday.
Thankfully this will be last sprint stage for a while because I'm struggling to find value. Kittel's as short as 4/6 which seems a little ridiculous in a race that features 190 riders.
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However, the Quick-Step sprinter really is in supreme form. He was badly positioned yesterday but floated into space and breezed to the head of the bunch. He didn't win by much but was clearly the strongest and fastest sprinter.
I wasn't surprised to see Kittel's odds shorten ahead of today's stage.The finish looks perfect for the German and backing him at 4/6 may prove fruitful yet again.
History suggests Kittel will slip up at some point and his rivals won't be giving up just yet. Arnaud Demare continues to look competitive but won't be in the mood to take big risks as he looks to consolidate his lead in the points competition. He's not particularly attractive at just 3/1.
Alexander Kristoff went well again today but I still think he lacks the speed to trouble the top three. My preference goes to Dylan Groenewegen who seems to have recovered from his crash and should be growing in confidence. He's been priced up at 16/1 and I'll be on him EW with a small stake.
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The head to heads aren't much more inspiring. Dimension Data have promoted Edvald Boasson Hagen to their sprinter slot following the departure of Mark Cavendish. The Norwegian should beat Sonny Colbrelli at 8/11 on Bet365. I'll be doubling him up with Rudiger Selig to beat Adrien Petit in what looks to be a safe bet.
There's not much more I can say about Stage 7 - it could well be a repeat of yesterday. Thankfully we're approaching the mountains where we'll start to see some big price winners.
The Verdict
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Kittel wins again with Groenewegen sneaking into the top three. There's always an opportunity for an upset in cycling and I'll be on Groenewegen EW at 16/1.
Words by: @justprocycling